French Restaurants - Facts

Les restos en France - Le saviez-vous ?

Part of Culture Courses | French Culture

Going to a French restaurant is wonderful. It’s a bit different, though.

In this short lesson, I’ll talk about these little differences. And because we’re always trying to improve our French, this recording is in French. You’ll find the translation on the site.

Restaurants are a bit different in France

The tip (15%) is included in the check you get. – le service est compris. You do not need to tip extra. You may want to when in a sophisticated restaurant, and you got impeccable service. French people tend to not tip extra.
Café will come after dessert, no matter what. You might ask for coffee with dessert, you might be told: “Yes of course” but chances are that coffee will come at the end of your meal anyway.
The check will come only when you ask for it. Waiters will wait for a sign from you to let them know you are ready to pay – l’addition s’il vous plaît. If you don’t, you might stay in the restaurant forever.
If you are a meat-eater, do not order steak in France, it’s almost always really tough.
If you are a vegetarian, your chance of finding a restaurant are slim, although it is getting better and better. Give the French some time, there’ll be more and more vegetarian places to eat from as time goes by. In the meantime, make sure you ask : « il n’y a pas de viande dans ce plat, n’est-ce pas ? » - « there is no meat in this dish, right ? »
French people order from the menu and don’t change the order. They generally don’t add ingredients on the side, don’t ask for another side dish, they don’t change the vinaigrette on the salad.
If you want a glass of water before your meal, you might have to ask for it. « Je voudrais un verre d’eau s’il vous plaît. » And if you want ice, this is the way to ask for it « Je voudrais des glaçons s’il vous plaît. »
Waitressing seems to be a male skill rather than a female position. There are much fewer female than male waitressing.

Vocabulary bites

Un menu is both a fixed set of dishes the chef pre-conceived to make a meal and the paper list of dishes to read out of.
Le plat is both the dish you eat and the platter it’s served in

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Exo - Practice

Facts about French restaurants – Quiz

Listen, read, and decide if the statement is true – Vrai, or false – Faux.

Le pourboire (15%) est inclus dans l’addition.
- The tip (15%) is included in the check you get.
- Vrai - Faux
Votre café viendra avant le dessert,
- You cup of coffee will come with your dessert,
- Vrai - Faux
Quand vous avez fini de manger, dites « L’addition s’il vous plaît. » pour payer.
- When you are done eating, say “The check please. ” in order to pay for your meal.
- Vrai - Faux
Il est courant de demander au chef-cuisto de changer les plats en fonction de vos préférences.
- It’s common to ask the chef to change the dishes to accommodate your preferences.
- Vrai - Faux
Il y a plus de serveurs que de serveuses en France.
- There are more waiters than waitresses in France.
- Vrai - Faux

Réponses – Answers

Le pourboire (15%) est inclus dans l’addition.
- The tip (15%) is included in the check you get.
- Vrai
Votre café viendra avant le dessert,
- You cup of coffee will come with your dessert,
- Faux
Quand vous avez fini de manger, dites « L’addition s’il vous plaît. » pour payer.
- When you are done eating, say “The check please. ” in order to pay for your meal.
- Vrai
Il est courant de demander au chef-cuisto de changer les plats en fonction de vos préférences.
- It’s common to ask the chef to change the dishes to accommodate your preferences.
- Faux
Il y a plus de serveurs que de serveuses en France.
- There are more waiters than waitresses in France.
- Vrai